Yazoo City Rotary Club recognizes World Polio Day

Rotary members in Yazoo City were among millions reaching out on World Polio Day to raise awareness, funds and support to end polio – a vaccine preventable disease that still threatens children in parts of the world today.

The Yazoo City Rotary Club brought awareness to end polio through a variety of public awareness efforts on World Polio Day, Oct. 24. A proclamation was recognized and signed by Mayor Diane Delaware this week to show both the city and club’s support and to encourage all citizens to join Rotary International in the fight for a polio-free world.

The Yazoo City Rotary Club will also be participating in a campaign that involves the viewing of Two Drops of Patience, a short film with Patience Asiimwe and her fellow Rotaractors to a remote region of Uganda to vaccinate children who otherwise would be missed. Rotary is harnessing the immersive power of virtual reality to create a more connected, stronger world. Virtual reality connects with people on a visceral, personal level in a way that words simply can’t. The local club will be presenting the informative and interactive film at various community events.

Since Rotary and its partners launched the Global Polio Eradication Initiative 30 years ago, the incidence of polio has plummeted by more than 99.9 percent, from about 350,000 cases a year to just 22 cases in 2017. To sustain this progress, and protect all children from polio, Rotary has committed to raising $50 million per year in support of global polio eradication efforts. The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation will match Rotary’s commitment 2:1. Without full funding and political commitment, this paralyzing disease could return to previously polio-free countries, putting children everywhere at risk.

“It is a great honor and privilege to be involved with the Rotary Club, which brings together a network of volunteers who are dedicated to a number of causes, including tackling the eradication of polio,” said Jamie Patterson, the Yazoo City Rotary Club president. “The work behind Rotary Club improves lives at both a global and local level. While we continue to help promote literacy and assisting to those in need within the Yazoo community, we are also working toward a polio-free world.”

Rotary brings together a global network of volunteer leaders dedicated to tackling the world’s most pressing humanitarian challenges.

Visit endpolio.org for more about Rotary and its efforts to eradicate polio.